“Lainey.” She looked up at him, most of the fear gone from her eyes, for which he was thankful. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“You know, Aaron, as strange as it sounds, those morning grouches are like bitter coffee.” She walked around to the other side of the counter and began picking up cups from the tables. “Wakes me right up. Takes a bit, but it always works.”
Now that made him full-on grin. Lainey was just about the sweetest person he knew. No way could she ever hate on someone. “Really? They make me want to punch them sometimes.”
She laughed, picking up a trash bag. “I know the feeling.” Aaron quickly circled the store, picking up discarded disposable cups and he grabbed the trash bag out of her hand. Their shoulders brushed and he felt a little shudder run through her. Was that good or bad?
“You liking your workout routine?” he asked as he came back into the store and washed his hands.
“I just started, but it’s not too bad.”
“Keep at it.”
“I plan on it.” She made a face. “The hardest part is going to be drinking down those kale shakes, though. Now I know why Payton got so mad every time I suggested them.”
“Come on, now. It’s better than that millet you made me buy. Stuff was like gravel mixed with couscous.”
“You gotta have your fiber.”
“I could do without birdseed in my diet, thanks very much.” She laughed again. He could bottle that sound and live on it. If only he could hang out in the juice bar with her all day. Unfortunately, the rest of the world was waiting for him.
By the end of the afternoon, Aaron needed to work off some hostility, or he was going to lose his mind. He’d been suppressing his irritation from the morning’s Cold-War-style confrontation with Josh, and what had at the time been a small niggle of annoyance had him needing to punch the crap out of a heavy bag by nightfall. He closed up the gym’s front desk early and headed back to the equipment. He’d hoped the hour was late enough that he would be mostly alone, but the place was still full of the after-work crowd.
He wasn’t desperate enough yet to go to town in front of clients, and so he walked over to the cooler and filled his water bottle. May as well get prepped while he waited for the place to thin out a little. Closing his eyes, he tipped his head back and took a big gulp. Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Josh walking into the gym. The man was wearing a giant pair of aviator sunglasses, despite the dying light outside, and a black t-shirt so tight it looked like it was strangling his chest.
Poser idiot.
If it wouldn’t cause more problems than it would solve, he would have banned the cocky little shit from his gym a long time ago. But they knew too many of the same people to make it worth putting up with the bitching Josh would keep up.. Besides, it was probably worth keeping him where Aaron could keep a watchful eye over whatever he was up to. Thinking of which—Aaron leaned up against the wall and looked Josh over, critically this time. He was big, a little too big. Aaron had wondered for a long time now whether Josh was using something a little stronger than the standard protein powders and supplements they all included in their training. Whatever it was, there was something even more off about the guy lately than usual. His eyes were never still, darting around the room wherever he stood, and more than once he’d heard Josh get overly defensive about an innocent comment, or even just when someone looked at him a little too long. Ego was nothing new in their world, but Josh was taking it to pathetic new levels.
Aaron watched him now, Josh walking up behind the bank of still-full treadmills. On one at the end of a row was a younger guy, a little skinnier than most of the guys there, and dressed up in trendy exercise gear. Aaron couldn’t care less—anyone who wanted to pay the door fee was more than welcome as far as he was concerned. He watched Josh carefully. Well, almost anyone.
Josh swaggered out and walked up behind the boy. “Hey, faggot!” Aaron pushed away from the wall. The boy on the treadmill flinched, but didn’t reply. He just kept the machine running, steadily ignoring Josh. Josh walked over to the other side of it and turned it off.
“Hey,” the guy said. He would have fallen down had Aaron not already been behind him, grabbing his arm before he hit the deck. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Josh’s chest puffed out to stupid levels and he took another step closer to the younger guy. “Say that again.”
“Here,” Aaron turned to the young man and pointed down the line to where a treadmill had been recently vacated. “Take that one, stay as long as you like.” Then he turned to Josh, who was snickering, and Aaron’s hands twitched with anger. “The fuck is your problem? You wanna fight somebody, you piece of shit, let’s make sure it’s a fair one.”
“What’d you say to me?”
“I said I wanna fuck you up. Let’s go.” Aaron motioned toward the octagon near the back of the gym.
“Fuck you. You can’t handle all this.”
“Then you should have no problem teaching me a lesson.”
He had to hand it to him, Josh kept up the battle of words longer than Aaron thought he would. The guy was obviously trying to save face, but judging by the way he shrank back when Aaron took his own step forward, it was obvious which way this fight was going to go.
They had an audience now. Josh glanced around the gym quickly, taking it all in before taking his own step forward, matching Aaron. “You’re just an old has-been. You’re gonna break a hip.”
“No, but you’re going to cry like the little boy you are.”
Aaron grabbed a pair of gloves pulled himself up into the ring. He stretched out his limbs, all the time watching Josh, who was still standing there watching him. “Ready?” Finally he moved, grabbing gloves left on the floor nearby and joining Aaron.
“Definitely.”
There was no referee, but Aaron resisted the urge to tackle Josh the minute he stepped up. Instead, he watched his every move as they circled around each other. “You look like you’re playing hopscotch. What is that shit?”
“You’re just jealous because I’m fast.” Josh threw a blow straight for Aaron’s jaw, but he dodged out of the way.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that. It was fast,” Aaron couldn’t resist the taunt, “but Josh, I’m faster.” Josh had let his guard down, and so Aaron swiped his side, his hand grazing the man’s ribs. Josh countered quick and landed a blow to Aaron’s neck.
“But I still got the first blow. Remind me to help you with your technique later.” Aaron moved back, expecting Josh to resume his skipping, but it didn’t happen. Instead, he rushed at Aaron and slammed him right in the chest, forcing out a grunt of air. “You like that, huh?” He aimed again for Aaron’s stomach, but Aaron moved first that time. He pushed Josh back and kicked his thigh, nearly knocking Josh over, then delivered a brutal right hook to his jaw, followed by another. Josh tried to stand, but didn’t move fast enough. Aaron took the opportunity to end it with a quick blow to his chest. Josh dropped and Aaron pinned him. The seconds seemed to stretch on forever before Josh finally tapped. Aaron stood and stepped back, not bothering to suppress his grin. Looks like older and wiser still counted for something.
“You motherfucker!” Josh stood back up, red in the face and ran at Aaron at full force. He dodged, but Josh still got in a good punch to Aaron’s nose and blood streamed down his face. Aaron just grinned again, this time directed at Josh. If the little shit thought Aaron was going to stand for an illegal move in his own gym, then he definitely had a lot left to learn. Aaron rushed forward and took him down again, jabbing his knee in to keep him pinned to the ground, then bent over so only Josh could hear him.
“What are you doing here, Josh?” Aaron’s voice was quiet and deadly.
“Fuck you!”
“I want you to leave Lainey alone.”
“Fuck you!”
“What do you want with her, huh?” Aaron gave him a good jab to the side.
“Why the hell d
o you care?”
“Stay the fuck away from her.”
“Or what? You can’t have her. You wouldn’t even know what to do with her.”
“And time for you to go.” Aaron stood, dragging Josh up with him. He didn’t let go as they left the octagon. He continued dragging him all the way to the door.
5
Lainey
Life was a strange beast, pulling Lainey out of her shell more every day, this time into an impromptu gathering at Payton’s work. Despite knowing her for several months, Lainey hadn’t ever visited her friend at work, nor had she drunk anything alcoholic for years. The guys she worked with mostly steered clear during training cycles, and so it was easy enough to avoid it. Yet there she was, standing in front of a full-length mirror with Payton, who had dressed her up in white leggings, a black vest, and nothing else.
“It’s over the top.” Lainey kept trying to adjust the leggings, and they kept bunching back up in all the wrong spots.
“It’s sexy and you know it.”
“Yeah.” She couldn’t deny it. “But it’s just not my style.”
“You’re gonna catch some eyes.”
“And gonorrhea.”
“The risk is the best part.” Payton flipped her hair over the front of her shoulder, scrunching it up in her hands to curl it, before running a black pencil around the edges of her eye. “You’ve gotta live a little, you know. No one’s getting out of here alive.”
Lainey laughed. “True. I guess I’ve just always played it safe.”
“I did that for a long time, but I never realized how stuck I was. It wasn’t until I was forced out of my comfort zone that I found anything worthwhile. It’s as scary as hell for sure, but worth it. Look at me and Cole.”
“He really cares about you,” Lainey smiled, but there was a twinge of pain in her stomach.
“I saw that, you know. You need a guy.”
“It’s hard for me, Payton. To look past what I see.”
“Not as hard as you think it is,” Payton gave her a significant look before grabbing her chin and attacking her with the eyeliner. “Trust me, I know.”
Was Payton finally going to tell her more about her past, about whatever she was still keeping locked away in her mind?
“There! Time for your lips. The guys at the bar aren’t going to know what hit them tonight.”
Apparently not.
Lainey changed the subject before things could get awkward. “I’ve never been to your bar before. What’s it like?”
“Just a place where you go and have a couple drinks. It’s nothing special, but it grows on you. It’s nice to have someplace to be.”
“It is,” Lainey agreed. “You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve been anywhere other than work.”
“I didn’t used to go out much, either. Besides, in Chicago, half the year is too cold to want to be outside for long.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. So I stayed indoors and worked—kept my head down.” Payton finished off her lips. “You ready?”
Lainey smiled at the excitement radiating off Payton, including maybe a little lust. It had been a few days since Payton had spent some quality time with Cole, and her colors were practically broadcasting what she planned on getting up to later that night. “Yep. Let’s go.”
It wasn’t hard to walk with confidence as Lainey crossed the gravel lot that led to the bar. Being around Payton for her first night out in a long time had its advantages. Before they’d left, Payton had presented her with a pair of black pumps with heels high and pointed enough that they clicked against the concrete. It was strange; usually she was the bubbly blonde, the All-American girl, but tonight she felt like a temptress, a goddess of dark desires and passion. Lainey was sure it was all feeding from Payton, but she was still going to enjoy it.
They walked into the dingy dive and up to the bar. “Hey,” Payton waved to the bartender, a tall woman. She was older, sure, but she had legs that went on for days and she commanded the entire room. No one would mess with her, that much Lainey could tell immediately. The woman’s face lit up in a genuine grin at the sight of Payton, who introduced them. “This is Rita. Rita, this is Lainey.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lainey shook her hand.
“So you work at the juice bar down at Rico’s?”
“Yeah.”
“You like it?”
“Love it, but now I’m kind of jealous of Payton. This place looks like it sees its fair share of action.”
Rita laughed. “It’s alright. Good money on a night like this, but it can get pretty crazy in here sometimes.”
“I bet it does.” Lainey turned around and took in the crowd—mostly older guys nursing half empty glasses of spirits intersected with rowdy college students who looked too young to get into any of the trendy craft beer places popping around the place. A weird-looking guy lurked in the corner, and Lainey felt a small shiver when her eyes passed over him. She couldn’t work it out exactly; he just seemed a little off. Maybe this wasn’t the kind of place she wanted to hang out. Rita spoke and stole her attention away from the man in the corner.
“Can I get you girls something to drink?”
“I’ll just get a Bud.”
“Oh, no.” Payton turned to Rita. “We’ll have that, an ale each, and two shots of tequila.”
“Umm, Payton. I’d still like to be able to stand sometime in the next hour.”
Rita grinned. “So you’ve brought me a new one, Payton? Can’t wait to introduce her to our usual habit after closing.”
Exactly what had she gotten herself into? Payton raised one of the two shot glasses Rita had placed in front of them and nudged Lainey. “Come on, you’re gonna do it, you know you want to.”
No sense in going half measure. “Yeah, I guess I am. Only one, though.”
Payton turned back to Rita. “Two more rounds after this, please, Gorgeous.”
Rita placed two more glasses in front of each of them, pouring some kind of red liquid into the glass, then something with bubbles, finishing it off with gin and then—oh my God—set the entire drink on fire. Lainey’s face felt warm. Whether it was from the first shot of alcohol or the drink on fire in front of her, she couldn’t say. She swayed slightly on her stool.
“Seriously?” Payton laughed at her.
“It’s on fire!”
“But it feels so good going down.” Payton lifted her glass and Lainey gingerly did the same. “Cheers!”
The drink burned just like the fire going down and once it hit Lainey’s stomach, threatened to come right back up again. She grabbed her beer and took a large swig, hoping to extinguish the flames, but it only made her cough. “Oh my God, what’s in that thing?” The music playing from the jukebox in the corner swapped to a rock tune with a wicked beat. It pulled Lainey in, turning her around and almost upside down as she watched a couple—red and yellow with passion and excitement—almost wrapped around each other dancing on an empty patch of floor.
“You liked it,” Payton said.
“Yeah, but one more like it and I’ll forget my own name.”
“So another, then?” Payton laughed and Lainey joined in. Everything was just so damn funny.
“Why not!”
Payton called Rita over and Lainey prepared herself for the shock as she lifted her drink. “Cheers.” She slammed it down and let the now expected burn roll through her. Any lingering self-consciousness over her outfit, hell anything to do with that night, disappeared. She could finally let loose a little. It had been far too long.
“Anyone look good here?” Payton whispered in her ear. Lainey let her gaze drift slowly across the room.
“Eh, it’s kind of an older crowd.”
“What about that one,” Payton no-so-subtly motioned to a jock in the corner wearing a gray cutoff shirt and tight jeans.
“He looks a little angry.”
“Does he? What’s that like?” It was clear that Payton was discreetly referr
ing to Lainey’s power.
“I don’t know how to explain it. I just know he is—not outwardly. I can just tell.”
“What am I like?” Payton leaned in a bit.
“You’re excited, letting loose.”
“The flaming shot could have told you that.”
Lainey shrugged. “I’ve never had to describe it to anyone before. I’ve never talked about it to anyone else, period. It’s kinda unreal, sitting here and talking to you about it like we’re chatting about the weather.”
The comment seemed to sober Payton up. “It’s hard, isn’t it? Not being able to be honest with people, not knowing who to trust.”
“I can’t trust anyone. I haven’t ever confide in anyone. Half of the time, I was afraid that I was out of my mind, and then I met you. It’s amazing.”
“The worst part about it is that you need people to trust. You need people to talk to.” Payton took a drink of her beer. “I can see why you’ve had so much trouble with men.”
Okay, it was way past time to change the topic. But really, Payton was right. “I hate it. How could I possibly get in a relationship and still keep that a secret? I want to find somebody I can tell everything to, but I can’t. You’re the only one I can talk to.”
Payton’s colors shimmered over to red. “You never know, look at Cole. He took it all in his stride. Well, he did after the first hiccup where I knocked him unconscious with my memories and then he nearly called the Feds on me.”
Lainey’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “He what?”
“It turned out okay in the end, obviously. Turns out the Fed was someone we could trust—well, sort of, but he knew all this wasn’t total bullshit at least.”
“So Cole knows everything?”
“Oh, yeah. Rita does, too. You open up to the right people, people who already care about you, and they’ll accept you.”
“Huh.” Lainey took a sip of her beer and leaned back onto the bar. Who knew? Then again, it was different for Payton. She was so full of confidence. There were open-minded people out there she guessed, but Lainey couldn’t see herself ever sharing that part of herself with anyone, let alone a lover. She still wasn’t completely convinced herself that it wasn’t some grand hallucination. Not when Payton wouldn’t explain any further. How could she tell someone else when she wasn’t even sure she believed herself? Plus, knowing exactly what her date was feeling the entire time wasn’t as fun as everyone thought it’d be. Most of the time it outright sucked. Seeing into their emotions—and ultimately their motivations—could be a painful process. Could she really find someone open enough, honest enough, that they could handle that?
Lainey (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 4) Page 3
